Misunderstood
by TKDP
Summary: When Skylar becomes desperate to get her powers back, she makes some dangerous choices that make her more vulnerable then ever. What does Oliver think of seeing the one he loves in such a tragic state?


**Okay, so hi! I'm just going to start out by saying, this story is pretty creepy, so if you don't like creepy, just go ahead and hit the back button right now. No hate, please! Just wanted to warn you. Anyway, you might also love this story, if you're a fan of creepy. Either way, this story will be good in my eyes. I hope you like it! Okay, so I've been reading a lot of creepy fanfiction, and it gave me the idea to write this. Plus, I just got done reading Paper Towns, and that book is creepy, too. (Speaking of which, I'm trying to write this story in the style of a John Green novel, so tell me how I did.) So I'm washed up in a wave of creepiness, and it has inspired me, although creepy and inspirational don't normally go well together. I also drew inspiration from If I Stay 2, and some episodes of Victorious. Without further ado, here's your story! I own nothing, and I'd like to recommend the song: Please Don't Leave Me by Pink. It REALLY fits, and I use a lot of the lyrics in my writing. So I'm going to ask you a favor. PLEASE READ THE LYRIC BEFORE READING! I want you to see the connections. I'm not telling you the POV, because I want to see if you can figure it out by yourself.**

Whizz...All that I could hear was the overpowering noise of the bike's tires zipping down the street, whizzing by unsuspecting people and local buildings. Nobody would've suspected where I was heading, and that's how I liked it. I could hardly comprehend where I was headed to myself, mostly because I thought it would never come to this. I knew what she'd wanted, and I knew she wanted it badly. But if only she hadn't been so stupid! If only she'd kept it to herself! If only...if only I'd been there for her.

She had been all alone, and the people around her were partly to blame. Sure, a lot of people encouraged her and were kind to her, but that hardly compared to the people that made her feel like nothing. They told her she could never do it. If there had been less naysayers, she wouldn't have done it. Heck, sometimes my best pal even made her feel bad.

"It" wasn't one thing, actually. The madness slowly progressed over time, eating her up inside. Eating up the girl I loved so much. I mean, I couldn't look at her as "mad." That was too much. More like...desperate. Yeah, that was the word, desperate. Too desperate. Eventually, though, I couldn't look at her at all.

It had been there from the beginning, I knew that now. Allen had told us about the whole 'lifting the overly-heavy weight' episode from when we first arrived. Maybe if we'd seen through her poker face, we could've helped her sooner.

As I pedaled by, I couldn't help but go over what had happened in the past two months, and the more I thought, the more angry I felt! The anger fueled me, and soon my legs were pumping fiercely, taking me to her faster. No, I wasn't mad at her...much. I was actually targeting my anger at one man in particular. In one moment. I remembered said moment like it was yesterday, even though it'd been a few months before. How could I forget? It was the day my heart broke.

I could clearly picture what had happened, even though not much happened. I wasn't even really involved. That was one of my many regrets, and nowadays, I had MANY.

Skylar had gotten in trouble (believe it or not) because she'd done another stupid thing to get her powers back. I believe it involved the top of a staircase, but this part of my memory was muddled, since she'd done _so many_ stupid things over the past month, you know, before the two-month period I was talking about. So, three months ago.

Where was I? Oh, right. So, normally this would've been ignored, because as I've said, she'd done MANY stupid things to get her powers back. So it wasn't unusual to anybody. I mean, even before three-months-ago, she'd always done the craziest things to regain her powers. If only we'd seen the signs earlier...Wait! You probably want to know why this _was_ noticed. So, Skylar had done crazy things before in Mighty Med to get her powers back, so this usually wouldn't be noticed. But you know why it was? I'll tell you why. _It wasn't in Mighty Med._

That was right. This had taken place _in school_. I don't know why she decided to do it there, maybe to impress others, I was still confused. But it didn't work. (Imagine that.) And naturally, people were scared. Who jumps off the top of a staircase?! (Yes! That's what she did! Oh, it's all coming back.) The teachers called her parents, only one problem you probably already know about. She has no parents.

Despite what I've been saying about her, Skylar's no idiot. She took the phone and called Horace. To this day, I'm still angry with him for what he did. Don't worry, I'm getting there.

Anyway, Horace was very busy in Mighty Med (still no excuse) and he told Skylar he couldn't come. She begged him to help her out, but when she told him exactly what she'd done, he _refused_ to help, and told Skylar she had to figure this out for herself. (can you believe him?!) Well, I guess this was a punishment for nearly exposing herself. But if he knew what this would lead to, he'd probably have bit back his words. No punishment could compare to what had happened to her.

One thing led to another, Skylar didn't have anyone to turn to. The principal looked into Skylar's (Connie's) files, and eventually found out there was no official birth certificate of her, or any known family ties to Horace. Eventually with all eyes on her, Skylar had to slightly confess some of the truth. Considering she had no excuse for why she had no family ties. She told them she had no parents and Horace was just a friend of hers. When they asked where she lived, she said nowhere, since she was willing to give herself up for the sake of Mighty Med.

Of course, this was mistake number one. Being that she wasn't from Earth, Skylar obviously didn't know how Normos thought. But when a Normo hears about an 'orphan, homeless girl jumping off a high staircase' well, you probably know what they thought.

Nothing can tame my bitterness any longer, even logic. Of course, the school system was worried about her mental stability. They were probably _trying_ to help her, but they didn't. They wanted her to be safe, but it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth taking her here, here being a place even a still-powerful hero couldn't escape from. And I wasn't just saying they couldn't help her because she wasn't insane, but because no matter what, she wouldn't stop trying to regain her powers. Even I knew that from square one. It was a part of who she was that I'd learned to accept. Maybe, I should've tried to change her. But now it was too late. I knew I'd never see her give up. At least, that's what I thought…

The part where my regret came into play, I never stopped them. Naturally, I was afraid. This'd never happened before, and I didn't understand. I was too scared to react. A mistake I'd never make again.

I should've learned better. I mean, Mighty Med was a crazy situation and I did just fine! I should've learned to take the bull by the horns and take control of a new situation, but I didn't. I let them take the girl I loved away, and didn't put up a fight.

When I said 'I eventually couldn't even look at her' I meant I hadn't seen her in two months. Yeah, I was a jerk, but I'd learned to suppress bad memories. If you're not getting the gist, I've basically suppressed the last three months. I knew what happened, but the memories were devoid of emotion. I didn't even have the capacity to miss her anymore.

Well, that's only partially true. It's more like I...felt her. I felt her presence like a shadow, or should I say, her previous presence. She was gone now. I always felt like I was being watched by her in a non-disturbing way. Whenever I went to an area of Mighty Med where we'd shared a moment, I would always think of her. But even when I felt like I could see her face in its full glory, I couldn't even feel anything. I wouldn't _let_ myself feel anything. It didn't even matter, because in a matter of seconds she'd be gone.

Well, you may be wondering why I was visiting her now. Anyway, I was talking with Kaz and Boji and even Fang, and they'd told me they'd all visited Skylar before. I didn't feel embarrassed for not visiting (as I'd said, I didn't feel any emotion) but I did ask why they stopped. (They mentioned only visiting her once or twice during the first of two months.) And that's where they took me by surprise. They told me they never wanted to see what she'd become again. At first, I was wondering if she'd actually became legally insane. But they told me she was just so...different. I needed to know if Skylar was okay, no matter what I felt. No matter what, she was still my friend. I owed it to her. She deserved it. And that brings you up to speed. Oh look! We're here!

I gently shoved open the doors to a Normo hospital. Not "a" Normo hospital, "the" Normo hospital. "The" because there was no Mighty Med. If only she'd been taken to the Mighty Med hospital. We could've helped her escape. But help wasn't what she wanted, was it?

I knew this was a bad place from the moment I stepped in. The Mighty Med hospital was run by professional and well-educated Normos who knew what they were doing and nearly always got the job done. This place was chaotic (not good for a hospital) with young, inexperienced workers (though I shouldn't be talking, I'm pretty young myself) rushing around, taking care of three patients at once. The ages weren't even organized, so a doctor would be looking after a five-year-old and an old man at the same time. I was disgusted.

Despite what I thought of this wretched place, I was on a mission. I needed to see Skylar. I walked up to the sign-in desk, and said "Oliver Pyne, here to see Connecticut Valentine." I kept my voice calm, professional, and serious. This wasn't difficult, since I hadn't been feeling real emotions for awhile.

The nurse behind the desk gave a phony smile, and said, "Nurse Mandy will take you to her room." As I turned and followed said woman, the nurse behind the desk whispered, "Why would anyone want to visit that area? He must be as crazy as the girl he's seeing!"

As I walked down the long hall, I began to grow worried. The rooms around me were full of noise, screaming people, mad men banging on doors, I could even see scratch marks where I supposed one person must've escaped and was dragged back in. I passed an open door, and the "room" inside was almost blank. I was hoping that where Skylar was, it didn't look like this. But the woman had called Skylar's space a room, so it had to be at least decent, right?

"Here you are." said the woman. She walked away, and I stared at a metal door, debating whether to open it or run. I still had time! I could run and not worry about facing her! But that would be the coward's way out, and if this was a time Skylar needed someone the most, then I would have to do. Besides, how bad could it be? I mean, what've I got to lose? Perhaps a part of my soul, but wasn't some of that missing already?

I gently placed my hand on the knob, (the door had been unlocked by someone who worked there) and let myself in.

Already I got a creepy vibe from this place. There was nothing but plush white walls and a lush white floor, as though you were walking on a mattress. Skylar was facing away from me, as though she didn't notice me come in. "Uh, Skylar?" I said. It turned out as more of a question. She didn't turn her head, as though she hadn't heard me. "Skylar!" I said, louder.

"Come in." she said, softly. Her voice was practically monotoned.

"Um…" I said, softly. I was actually afraid. I didn't want to come near her, because I didn't know what to expect. She was sitting awkwardly, as though she couldn't stand up. Then I realized, there was these weird white balls around her hands. I'd ask her about that later, if I even lasted until later.

Seeing as though I was getting the vibe she couldn't stand, I crawled over to her, as not to tower over her. "Skylar?" I asked again, softly.

"Why do you keep saying that?" she asked, softly.

I didn't know what to say, but I knew it wasn't like Skylar to be so literal. "Um…" I said, _because I'm uncertain this is really you_. I wanted to say that, but what would she think?

I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and when she didn't react, I gently turned her towards me. Her face was slightly pale, and her hair was very greasy, but that's not what captured my attention. Her eyes were dark and dead, like two holes burned into a rug. I nearly jumped back, but I managed to keep my cool. (This would've been harder for a sheltered person, or someone who didn't eliminate all emotions.) "Hi." she said. Her voice was plain and simple, as if she didn't have enough emotion left to make her words have depth. (Something we had in common.)

"Um, how are you?" I asked, awkwardly.

"I could be better." said Skylar in the same monotone voice she'd been speaking with.

"Great…" I said. God, I really didn't know how to talk to her. She was just so, different. "Uh," I said, trying to change the topic, "Like, uh, why do you have those balls around your hands?"

"They're to keep me from hurting myself, same as everything else in this room." Her voice was so...dead. It was as if I'd looked up "Balls Around Hands" online, and gotten an answer from Wikipedia. She said what she needed to say, and didn't try to carry out a conversation.

Well, Skylar was my friend, and I had every right to tell her this. "Uh, you aren't talking very normally." I said. The understatement of the year.

"Sorry." she said in an unapologetic voice, "When you live in a prison, you don't exactly get to sharpen your people skills."

She was so blunt, it was wrong. But hey, this whole place was wrong. She was in a all white room, and I'd just noticed she was wearing a white V-neck and white leggings. Not to mention white slippers. Why didn't they want her to see color?

"Why don't they want you to see color?" I asked. Hey, if she was going to be Miss. Dictionary, there was no harm in me asking.

"I don't know." she said, though she didn't sound confused. It was as though her emotions didn't match her speech, "Something about, 'not wanting to confuse my already unstable mind,' or whatever." She tried to hide it, but in that moment I captured the reason she was so monotoned. Beneath the odd fact-speak, her voice was oozing with resentment.

"Oh." I said. The word sounded so hollow and dull compared to the real gravity of what she said, I wanted to slap myself. But weren't all her words hollow and dull?

"Yeah…" said Skylar, the awkwardness catching.

"I've...missed you." I said. It wasn't totally true, but it wasn't a lie either. I couldn't stop thinking about her, but I didn't necessarily feel for her.

"Then why don't you visit?" she asked. For once, her voice contained some emotion. Sure, her voice was a little snippy, and also frustrated and accusatory, but I was pleased her voice contained emotion. (albeit a little) Pleased. Was that really all I felt? I should've been overjoyed, but it might take me some time to truly care, if ever.

It was as though we were on two sides of a silent argument. A cold war fought with our eyes and tempers. On her side, she clearly blamed me for not standing beside her, and stepping aside when she was in the worst heat she could come by. On my side, I was frustrated she'd gotten herself into this mess in the first place. I just couldn't understand her reason for giving up her sanity so easily! Oh yes. A fierce war, with many casualties to already maimed soldiers. But our hearts were already broken, so did it matter?

"I asked you a question." she said, turning her anger towards me.

"Well," I said, "I...don't know. Life's been tough."

"Life's been tough!?" screeched Skylar, her anger rushing out in a sudden wave of emotion, a wave that'd been held back for the past two months. Her mood swing changed so suddenly, I was shocked into silence. "I've been living in this prison like a caged animal and you have the nerve to say _your_ life's tough?! What the heck, Oliver! What. The. Heck!"

"Why did you do it, Skylar? Why!?" I screamed, my anger rising as her eyes clouded from suppressed tears, "Why?! That's all I ask of you?! Do you know how many people panicked?! Didn't you even realize this was a potential development?! I don't even understand you sometimes! Don't blame me, blame yourself for your stupidity!"

I realized too late how much my words had hurt her. She wiped her eyes, suddenly silent. "Skylar, I…" I started, before she cut me off.

"I think you should go." she whispered. But this whisper was different. Unlike her previous monotone whispers, this whisper rang with emotion. Hurt, anger confusion, and guilt.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. Any other words died in my throat. What else could I say? "It...it wasn't your fault."

"No, you're right." she said. Wait, come again? "It was crazy of me to...do the things I did outside of Mighty Med. I guess I kind of...deserve this."

I turned towards her, looking her in the eyes for the first time with gentleness. "No Skylar, you don't. You really don't."

"I do." she said.

"Then why were you so mad?" I asked.

"I wasn't mad, at least, not at you." said Skylar, "I guess I was just frustrated from all that has happened to me. I'm just so...tired, but wound up at the same time. I needed a way to relieve the tension, and I guess you were the first person I saw as an opportunity. I'm...sorry. Everything you said is true. I'm an idiot for doing these things, and I don't deserve friends like you."

"Hey." I said, stopping her short. "If anyone deserves good friends, it's you. Despite your actions three months ago, you've always been the best person ever. Literally no one, not even Kaz, compares.

Skylar blushed. "I-I want to know what's...really...on your mind." she said, "What you really think of me. But please don't say any words we wouldn't be allowed to use in school." She smiled awkwardly, while I was a little surprised she mentioned school. I mean, she hadn't gone in two months.

"I-I wouldn't!" I cried. She giggled slightly, as though she knew I would do that. Now it was my turn to blush. "Well," I started again, "I've always admired you...but I've also always worried, too. You don't know how many times I went home after my work shift wondering how you would do while we were away, or if you felt insecure. And when you jumped, I guess I felt like I hadn't done my job. I felt like I had done it so badly that you were willing to hurt yourself to make a point."

"Really, Oliver." said Skylar, "You've done the job better than I could've ever imagined. Hoped for, even."

"I just didn't understand." I said. "Didn't you know how many people cared about you? How your absence lowered the spirit of, well, everyone at Mighty Med, even Allen? How it affected...me?" I allowed myself to let my emotional guards down for one moment, my voice ringing with hopelessness.

"Oliver, I just-I just don't know what came over me." said Skylar, "It's _so_ hard living without powers, but I was honestly being a selfish brat. I mean, Normos get along just fine without powers, and some people are in even worse situations than me. Some people are starving, or homeless, who gives about powers, those people would trade a finger for a sweater! It was wrong of me, but I can't feel totally sorry. With powers was how I was grown up, and I was taught being a super-powerful superhero was the center of our world."

I nodded. What she said made sense, and I was glad she was giving me the truth. Maybe it was a sign our friendship/relationship wasn't totally in shambles. "Things haven't been the same without you." I said, softly.

"Same here." said Skylar. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Ugh." said Skylar, "I forgot a therapist was coming."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," said Skylar, "This place is supposed to get people's mental states back on track, and they need therapists to test if they're still crazy. But the therapists are total idiots, so I'm never getting out."  
I was confused, and didn't understand what she meant, but then the door swung open, and a young man came in, and sat down in front of Skylar. "Hey Connie!" he said. He talked to her like she was a four-year-old.

"Hi." she said, switching back to dead stares and monotone voices.

"Okay," he said, "We're going to run some basic mental stimulation tests. First, stand up."

Skylar rolled her eyes, and I could tell why. She didn't stand up because she couldn't! It was clear to me those things around her hands were too heavy for her to list.

"Does not respond to basic instructions…" murmured the therapist as he wrote his report.

"Hey!" I shouted, "That's not-" but Skylar cut me off with a sharp look.

"Next," he said, "Tell me…"

I zoned off. I did hear, however, that his questions were impossible for Skylar to answer, because she didn't know the answer! Some of it was because she wasn't from Earth (which probably convinced him she was completely crazy) and some were just questions no normal person would know the answer to! Like, what are all the digits of pie? Who knows, and who cares!? But as he was talking, my temper was rising. All I wanted was to punch this guy. But I held back, for Skylar's sake. Hey, she wouldn't want me to be put in here, too! Or worst, I didn't want to go to jail.

"Okay." he said, after maybe twenty minutes. "Sorry Connie, you're clearly not ready to leave."

Skylar didn't respond, just stared off into space. I, on the other hand, had _many_ choice words for him. It took all my power to bite my lip and tug angrily at my shirt, and not at his hair.

The therapist left the room (good, I never wanted to see his face again) and Skylar ducked her head, and whispered, "I'm never getting out of here, am I?"

Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. I literally couldn't stand to be here one more second. "I've gotta go." I said, quickly walking towards the door, consumed in thought. Skylar couldn't even stand. So, she hardly moved, and she couldn't do anything she normally did, like cartwheels and backflips and stuff. She was probably miserable, and it was wrong of me to leave her. She really did need me most right now. But I just couldn't bring myself to stay.

"Please, stay." she whispered. I don't know what made me stop. I think it was her tone of voice. It was so longing and…broken, I couldn't leave. At least, not right away I wasn't that horrible. I wasn't going to turn down such a plaintive cry for help. "It's so lonesome here…and sometimes…the nights…"

For some reason, she couldn't go on. I didn't know why, though. It wasn't like she was afraid of the dark or anything. "Skylar?" I asked.

She quickly wiped her eyes, and said, "Just go. Leave me."

Somehow, those words struck a chord in me. I couldn't leave her. It was just wrong. Like, beyond anything I'd ever done. It was against moral. I'd left too much in the past two months, emotions, normality, love, everything that gave life meaning, and I wouldn't leave her too. "No." I whispered.

"What?" she asked.

"No." I repeated, "I'm not leaving you. Not anymore, or ever again." I walked over to her, and sat on my knees in front of her. Her face suddenly lit up with (was it?) hope.

"Oh, Oliver!" she cried, throwing her arms around me, "Thank you so much! This is the best thing you could ever tell me!"

I was surprised how badly she wanted companionship. How badly…she didn't want to be alone.

"So, what now?" I asked. I didn't know how a place like this worked, and I didn't know what to expect.

Skylar looked surprised. "I actually don't know." she said. "Normally around now I'd just be staring off into space until another day." I tried to ignore how weird that sounded. "I have whatever slop they call dinner, and then…kind of go to bed."

"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" I asked.

"Well," she said, "I don't sleep very well. Sometimes I'll just stay awake all night, or have nightmares, or toss and turn a lot. Unfortunately, there's monitors in each room," she pointed at a security camera, "so people can see when my sleeping becomes restless, and once again they tag it to insanity."

"…oh." I said, "Um, that's too bad…" Seriously!? I couldn't say anything more, I don't know, in depth?!

"Yeah." she said, softly.

Then, I heard the sound of footsteps by the door. Through a slot in the door, and tray of food was pushed (if you could call it food) and dropped to the floor, spilling stuff everywhere.

Skylar stared at it for a long time, before saying, "I'm not hungry."

"Aren't they going to take the balls off your hands?" I asked.

"Why would they do that?" she asked.

"Well," I said, "How do they expect you to eat with those on?! How _have_ you eaten with those on?!"

Skylar rolled her eyes. "They're idiots. They don't think this stuff through."

"But how do you eat?" I persisted.

She rolled her eyes again, something she'd been doing a lot. "Same way Boji eats her meat."

I didn't even want to picture that. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes, and realized something. The dead-eyed stare she'd had was a result of herself, not this place. The memories she couldn't let go, not just of three months before, her friends, or even Mighty Med, but also of having powers and her life before, were eating her up inside. Was that it? When she was staring off into space, was she really thinking of us?

"Skylar?" I asked, "How have you gone on?"

Skylar gave me a long, sad look, before saying, "With hope for a better future."

"You will." I said. I was shocked by the certainty in my own voice, before realizing that I really did believe myself. I really believed that Skylar would have the life she deserved.

"How do you know?" she asked in a voice that suggested she didn't even believe she'd really have a better future.

"Because." I said, "If anyone deserves an amazing life, it's you."

We stared at each other a long time, before the lights suddenly went out.

"What's going on!?" I screamed.

"Oh shoot!" she said, "I didn't realize the time! They're closing up. They aren't going to let you out."

I thought about it for a minute. On one hand, I really hated being in such a depressing place, but on the other hand, I wanted to stay with Skylar. Eventually the latter outweighed the first, and I decided not to panic. It would be okay to spend one night with Skylar before we'd part ways.

"It's okay." I said, "Just…more time for us to spend together."

"I don't know." said Skylar, "You aren't going to like this."

"Like what…" I said. I was getting a little freaked out. Why did Skylar suddenly look nervous?

And then I heard it. Loud screams were coming from all the rooms around us. Some people were cursing, others were just screaming until their voices went sore. And they were scaring Skylar. This, I realized, was no place for a sane person. It was dangerous, if even the noises were not adjustable after two months. Which meant Skylar _did not_ belong.

Skylar's eyes were darting from wall to wall, where I assumed there were rooms on the other side. Sweat had beaded at her forehead, and she was shaking. I wasn't too freaked out (I'd been through much worse) but I wanted to comfort her. I didn't know how, but I didn't need to. I unconsciously came up with my own solution.

I wrapped my arms around her, and she leaned her head on my chest. I was surprised by my own actions. I myself was becoming a little nervous, because I'd never had her so close before. Heck, I hadn't even seen her in two months.

She was still shaking, so I ran a hand through her hair. It was very tangled and unclean. I decided to talk to her, to calm her down. "Um, your…hair's greasy." God, was I so nervous that's what I said?!

"They don't have showers here." she whispered, "Or any other hygiene appliances for that matter."

"You can't be serious." I said.

"Why would I be joking?" she asked. What the heck?! Was this place made for humans, or animals?! There was certain conditions for running a place like this, and I'm telling you, appliances were one of them.

"So they really do treat you like caged animals?" I asked.

"No." she said, "At least caged animals get hosed off once in a while." I could hardly believe what she said. She might've said it jokingly, but she was really just kindly saying, "Even wild animals get treated better than this."

Suddenly, I could barely hear the screams around me, and turned my attention to what she was saying. Or should I say, what she was trying to say. She needed to get out of here. And I was the only person who could help her.

I felt compelled to hug her tighter, for whatever reason, it still hadn't come to me. "Oliver, you're hurting me." She murmured, but she wrapped her arms around me, anyway.

Holding each other, we managed to fall asleep, but now I knew why she had a hard time sleeping. The only thing crazier than the people here, was the actual place. Anyway, it was morning (I thought. I couldn't tell with the white walls.) and I decided to wake Skylar up. Once again, I reacted without thinking.

I leaned in, and kissed Skylar's forehead. "Morning superhero." I muttered, shaking off sleep.

She woke up, but she didn't look as surprised as I thought she'd be. Her eyes didn't pop open, more opened slowly and gently. Either way, I thought it was beautiful. "Morning." she whispered.

I smiled. Was it possible I was getting back some of the emotion I thought I'd lost?

"Oliver." whispered Skylar, "I want to stay with you."

I felt something, something important. A realization, perhaps. "But don't you see, Skylar?" I asked, "You can never truly leave here if you don't let go."

"What do you mean?" asked Skylar.

"I mean," I said, "You'll be trapped in more ways than one if you continue life like this. You need to live in the now, and appreciate what you've got. You need to stop worrying about when your powers will come back, and enjoy the beauty of life right now. Life with me. Or else, you'll always be trapped in the white walls."

She seemed at a loss for words, and all she could do was look at me. I looked back at her, taking in her beautiful brown eyes.

We were just staring at each other, lost in each other's eyes, when I barely heard the door open. It was hard to tell, though, because all I could hear was the beat of my heart.

"Okay, Oliver." Said a fake-cheery voice I recognized as the woman who led me here, "Sorry you had to stay with her. We forgot to warn you."

I couldn't help but feel my anger rising at her words. She made it sound like staying with Skylar was a punishment. But I shouldn't have been mad. I kind of felt that way, too, when I'd first arrived. I'd been so nervous, but now I realized, visiting her was the best thing that ever happened to me. To both of us.

"Um." I said, "Uh, okay." Skylar looked brokenhearted, and I felt bad for leaving. I wasn't really leaving, of course, but I hated making her think I was. She looked away, and I could practically feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

I followed the woman outside, and went to the front desk. "Who's in charge of the Mental Ward?" I asked. No, not asked. More like demanded. "I want to speak with him."

The nurse let out a huff, and went into a back room, and came back with a man, maybe in his late thirties, "I'm Jason." he said in the same fake-cheery voice everyone here spoke with, "What can I do for you? Have any convi-I mean, patients bothered you?"

"No." I said, "This place bothers me. It's a low-class establishment with untrained doctors, unsound-proof walls, and a lack of appliances. It's not appropriate for anyone."

The falsely happy man suddenly looked angry. "And who are you to tell me how we should run the hospital."

"I'm a high trained doctor in my own right." I said. It was only partially true, but even an amateur would know this was an unsafe place.

"You?!" he asked, suddenly releasing a bark of laughter, "You're just a teenager! What do you know?!"

"What I know doesn't matter." I said, "What matters is your patients. And I'm talking about one patient in particular. Connie Valentine. I want her out."

He let out a second bark of laughter, and said, "You must be crazier than her! That nut case can't be let out! Ha!"

I wanted to pounce on him like the animal he treated his patients like, but I composed myself. Hey, if I could convince the warden to let Kaz's fourth brother out of jail, I could do anything. You know why? The moment he got out, he robbed a bank. "Maybe you don't recognize me." I said, "I'm Oliver Pyne. Lawyer to Kurt, my best friend's brother."

"Oh I heard of Kurt." said Jason, "The man on the FBI's most wanted list? You must be so proud." I blushed. Maybe it wasn't best to mention Kurt.

"I still convinced them to let him out." I said, weakly.

"Okay," he said, almost teasingly, "Have you ever had experience as a probation officer?" So he really did look at his patients as prisoners! Oh, I was totally going to report him to Horace as soon as I got back to Mighty Med.

"In fact I do." I said, "There's, uh, this one kid, who has lots of issues at home, who I watch to make sure he doesn't end up like his brothers, (Kaz) and…um…this girl, who's really talkative that thinks she's a wolf! (Boji)

"Got any proof?" asked Jason.

"In fact I do!" I cried. I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a picture I always carry with me. "This is the boy, and this is me, uh, _watching_ him."

"Well," admitted Jason, "He _is_ identical to the boy on the most wanted list…"

"And…" I said, "I was Connie's best friend. Please, I can take care of her."

Jason stood there, mulling his options for ten suspenseful, breath-holding minutes, before finally saying, "Fine. But if she does anything crazy, you need to take her back here."

"Thank you." I said, courteously. But really, I was celebrating inside. Skylar was coming back to Mighty Med!

I ran down the hall, back to Skylar's room, and opened the door. "Oliver?!" cried Skylar, "What are you doing here?!"

"You're coming home." It was all I had to say. I grabbed they key Jason had given me before I'd ran off, and unlocked Skylar's hands. She stared at them for a long time (her nails were very long) before grabbing me into a hug. "Oliver!" she cried, again. Tears of joy were streaming down her face.

"Let's go back to Mighty Med." I said.

"As we walked down the road (unless Skylar wanted to ride in the basket of my bike, we were walking. Yeah…I'd come back for that later.) passersbys gave us weird looks. Hey, it wasn't everyday a girl who looked like she hadn't showered in two months wearing all white passed you by. She just leaned her head on my shoulder, and carried on. I smiled, but Skylar looked like she was struggling slightly. Her legs were very shaky, since she hadn't used them in two months. She leaned even heavier on me, and I was practically carrying her back.

We were quite a sight when we made it back to Mighty Med. Everyone gathered around us, and I could tell Skylar felt a little overwhelmed, like a puppy surrounded by a dozen children. Horace touched Skylar's arm, as though he thought she was just an illusion. A mirage that would disappear. But she was real. Oh God, she was so real. Even Allen (despite him always saying he was annoyed by Skylar) looked glad to have her back. Kaz was excited his friends had finally returned, and Boji was bouncing up and down on her back legs. Fang, as usual, avoided showing emotion, but when he thought no one was looking, I noticed him secretly grinning. We were finally all together again. Now my only problem was explaining to my mom why I'd spent the night in an insane asylum without calling her.

 **Epilogue**

Skylar and I sat on the white couch in the REC room together, my arm was around her shoulders, and her arm was around my waist. She sighed, contentedly, and leaned her head on my shoulder. She had taken a shower, and was currently back in her usual uniform. All I wanted was to express how I felt to her, but even after all we'd been through, I was still a little nervous. But hey, if she could cheek-kiss me, so I could I.

I leaned in, and she suddenly turned her head, as though she knew I was coming, and I hit her lips.

 **Cheesy, romantic, and creepy, I thought this was a perfect balance of everything. It took me a long time to write, and I apologize for this being long, but I didn't want this to be a chapter story. Did you like it, was it too creepy, was it romantic? All questions I want answered in the reviews. Should I do more? I usually excuse any creepy ideas I get, but I just HAD to write this one. I hope 'yall liked this, and…SKOLIVER FOREVER! Bye!**


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